The Book Thief After Story - MaxLeslie
by Fruba
Summary: After the WWII Leslie is 17 and still living in her small town. Working with Alex Steiner and living with Ilsa Hermann. One day when working at Steiner's s store an old friend comes back to see her. Max now doing well after the War found her and asks for her to visit. Now that Leslie is older she starts to see Max as more of a handsome man than an old friend. (For Ashlynn)
1. Chapter 1: Together Again

_**The Book Thief After Story (Max/Liesel)**_

** For Ashlynn **

(All Characters belong to Mark Zusak)

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _October 1945_

It was past the Second World War and the world was steal healing from many physical and emotional wounds. Like many others Liesel Meminger was trying to pick up her life which had been blown to pieces, figuratively and literally. She was 17 and still living in the small town that had been blown apart during the end of World War Two. Living with the Mayor Hermann and his wife Isla and working with Alex Steiner at his Tailor shop. The tailor shop didn't have much promise, but it felt right for her to work with Mr. Steiner, since he also lost everyone he loved. And they shared the loss of Rudy together.

On a crisp October day Liesel was in the back of the shop sorting out thread spools by color and button sizes. The button's all looked the same size to her, but she knew that it was important to Mr. Steiner for everything to be exactly in place, so she took her time with them. While sorting she her the bell on the front door jingle.

"Good." She thought.

"It would be great to finally have a customer."

She heard a familiar voice say "Is there a Liesel Meminger here?" She knew that voice like the notes of Papa's songs. She rushed out of the back room and stepped out to the front room. Standing there was a familiar head of feathery brown hair and a warm smile.

"Max." She smiled, tears in her eyes, and practically jumped over the counter to hug him. They embraced in a flurry of smiles and happy tears. He held her at arm's length and looking over her as if to make sure she was really there. She looked him over as well, happy to see how built he had become. Remembering a time when he was close to a skeleton. Remembering him in shackles. He was clean shaven and had a new suit on. His light brown eyes were red and puffy from tears, but sparkled with joy. He let his hand's drop to his sides, taking one and wiping his nose with the sleeve.

"Wow. You have grown" he sighed. "Grown into such a beautiful young woman." He said.

She blushed, and remembered she was in her work outfit. An old striped dress with various stains, and a dirty apron.

"I don't know what you are talking about." She said tugging at her apron.

"I think I should be saying you are the one that looks good."

"It does good to finally get a good meal every day." He said laughing but she saw the pain in his eyes. He was only slightly joking. Changing the subject he said. "I am glad you let your hair grow out. It is very becoming on you." He lifted a strand of her light blonde hair in between his fingers, then letting it fall back onto her shoulder. She had been growing her hair out, and it was past her shoulder blades now. She did this to look more feminine now that she was getting older, and trying to care of herself more. "Thank you." She said. "Just trying to be older." They both smiled and she met his eyes. It had been a long time since she really looked into his eyes. That was long ago, before the end of the war, before the bombs, before she was old enough to realize how nice they were. He had light brown eyes, almost hazel, and she could swear she saw flickers of gold in them. As beautiful as they were they were filled with sadness, and she wondered what he was feeling now. Embarrassed she looked away, realizing she was staring.

"Oh." He said digging in his coat's breast pocket. "Here is a paper with my address. I live in the next town over, and travel for work. Please if you ever need anything stop by. My door is always open to you Leslie."

She took the paper from his hand and looked up at him. He smiled big and repeated "My door is always open." She folded the paper neatly and placed it in her apron pocket. "Thank you." She said. All of a sudden she started feeling very embarrassed and she didn't know why. Was it because she was in such drab work clothes? Was it because she didn't know what to say? Or was it that every time she looked up she saw Max a little different. That she saw his eyes to be more striking as well as his smile. Once again she looked up and saw that Max was looking at her, not in a confused way, but in adoration. Now she really felt embarrassed. Had he always had such a nice jaw line?

"Th-Thank you for taking your time to find me again, and coming back to see me." She fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to do with them.

"I am glad I did." He paused a little before adding "Since you are all I have left." He said the second part in a struggled whisper. She felt cold as she realized the second part was true.

She thought "His family must not have made it. He is the only one left, and unlike me he has no one to turn to."

"I will make sure and visit you soon, Max. As soon as it is convenient for you." She said without thinking.

"Would you like to come and visit me this Thursday? It is my only day off besides Sunday, and it is as soon as possible."

"I would be delighted to." She replied. "I will have to ask Ilsa first. I may be an adult, but I do still have to make sure she knows."

He laughed "That is perfectly all right. I will be back this Thursday, around noon, to check on you anyway. If you are fine with it I will pick you up and take you over to my house… Well apartment and I will show you some of the new places they are rebuilding."

"That sounds wonderful. Let me write down my address." She went behind the counter and got a scrap piece of paper and pen, and quickly scribbled down her address at the Hermann's. "I will see you then." She smiled giving him one last hug before he left.

She felt his arms wrap around her and she hugged a little tighter. As he left he waved, and she stood outside the store waving until he turned a corner and was out of view. She could not wait to see him again, and she wasn't quite sure why.

Walking back into the store she saw Alex Steiner looking at her, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "And who was that gentleman?"

"Oh just an old friend." She said whisking behind the counter, heading to the back room to sort her buttons. As she went through the doorway she heard him say. "Uh huh. Just an old friend."


	2. Chapter 2: The Same Feeling

**Chapter 2**

Since the bombing in their town Leslie had moved in with Mayor Hermann and his wife Ilsa. Ilsa had grown fond of Leslie before and had loved having her company. She had no children for her only child, Johann, had frozen to death as an infant decades before, and having Leslie made her feel the pain a little less. Ilsa was now in her late forties and it was too risky to try and have another child. Even if she could she wouldn't try. The thought of losing another child could take Ilsa to the brink. Where she would go into her episodes of silence and not eat, only staring out the library window at the trees and the sky. These were few and far between, but when it did happen it seemed that the only person who could bring her back was Leslie. Leslie wouldn't slap her or yell, she would only pick a book off the shelf and sit down beside her. Leslie would then start reading the book from the very beginning and keep reading until she got to the end. Her voice would start to get dry and raspy yet she still would read. It would take hours to finish reading a book, but always at the end Leslie could look up and see that Ilsa was back, smiling at her. Ilsa would always come back for Leslie.

When Leslie got home she excitedly told Ilsa what had happened. Capturing every detail she could about how he was now, and telling her about his proposal about Thursday. The whole time Ilsa just listened nodding her head and laughing a little when Leslie got deep into telling about meeting Max again. Leslie asked if she could be picked up by Max on Thursday to go and visit where he lived now. Ilsa thought for a moment with her perfectly drawn eyebrows knitted together. She glanced at Leslie with a look of concern, but it quickly faded away.

"That is fine by me." She paused and bit her lip a little. "But I want you to be safe, ok? I know he is an old friend that you have known for a long time. That you even helped him back when the war was still going on, but you are an extravagant girl who has grown into her beauty. You are young and beautiful, and you talk very much in adoration of him. I feel that you care very much for him. But he is a grown man, and you are now a grown woman. So I just want you to be safe, and leave if you feel uncomfortable."

Leslie stood for a moment taking in Ilsa's words. Ilsa rarely talked this much, even as Leslie got to know her over the years, so this was a rare occasion with powerful words.

"I promise you nothing is going to happen, but if something does I promise to _run away_ as fast as I can" She said the last part laughing.

"You are a silly girl. Be careful" Then Ilsa strolled back to her library, leaving Leslie to think over what she had said.

"Why do I need to worry?" Thought Leslie. "Max is a man I knew when I was still a kid. Why would anything bad happen? We are just going to go around town and then I get to see where he lives. Friends do that after they have been lost for years. What makes this so strange?"

That night she lay in bed thinking about Max. How being around him for that short period of time today seemed different. She kept thinking about his eyes and the way their was beauty in their sadness. Even after he had been through so much, his eyes still had a small shimmer in them. A small shimmer of hope. The more she tried to stop thinking about him the more that she did think about him. How could she feel like this after only seeing him for such a short time today. She hadn't felt this way in a long time. Not since a young boy with lemon hair. Even years after the bombing she still cried when she thought of Rudy. Rudy was her first love, and he was taken away without warning with so many other loves in her life. She would have never told him back then that she loved him, but if he was here now she would cry it from the top of a mountain. This was her only regret, never telling Rudy what he wanted to hear. To finally return his feelings, and maybe kiss him when his lips were not cold and unmoving. How would it be if the bombs never came? Would she already be married to Rudy? Would they have had Lemon haired children? Would she be thinking of Max like she was now? She focused on this feeling in her gut and knew exactly what she felt. Why would she be noticing all these small details about his face and be so excited about going to see him? This wasn't love, not a bit, but something similar. Leslie rolled over on her bed and closed her eyes trying to get the feeling out of her mind. Even if it was years later she didn't feel like caring about someone as she did Rudy. Besides Max was much older and probably still thought of her and the same messy little girl as before. Even if she had filled out over the years, she knew it wouldn't change his eyes towards her. So she pushed down this butterfly feeling, and finally fell asleep. Dreaming of Brown Shimmering eyes and even the boy with lemon hair.


End file.
